Hollywood won't have to raise tax rate or raid reserves to balance next year's budget

July 10, 2013|By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel

HOLLYWOOD — The budget forecast coming out of City Hall on Wednesday predicted no increase in the tax rate or fire fee for the next fiscal year.

A public workshop on Wednesday gave commissioners their first glimpse at Hollywood's $195.5 million budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct 1.

Only two years ago, Hollywood officials grappled with a $38 million budget shortfall. The city declared "financial urgency" that year, relying on tax hikes, layoffs and pay cuts to help balance the budget.

In the new budget plan, homeowners would continue to pay a $189 fire fee and a base tax rate of $744 per $100,000 of assessed value. That means the owner of a $200,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay $1,758 in city taxes, an increase of $18.

Hollywood won't have to raise taxes or raid its emergency reserves partly thanks to its victory in a disagreement with FEMA, Finance Director Matt Lalla said. After a seven-year battle, the federal agency recently agreed it owed the city $4.6 million in federal disaster money related to Hurricane Wilma.

Two years ago, the city had only $908,000 in its rainy day fund, Lalla said. By the end of this year, Hollywood will have an estimated $22 million in reserves — $4 million shy of its goal.